VIE Programme

Catherine Ryall
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26-oct.-2016 18:38:11

The 6 th award ceremony of the graduate programme, organised by Business France UK and in partnership with the French Foreign Trade Advisers in the UK , was a success like we had not yet seen! The ceremony which was hosted by Ambassador Sylvie Bermann on October 20 th at the French Residence, was followed by a networking event involving the candidates, former VIEs and sponsors. Nearly 400 graduates in the UK were eligible for the awards. With over 40 applications received this year – double the previous number, twelve candidates with varied and unique profiles, were shortlisted to outline their experience to a jury consisting of company directors, French Foreign Trade Advisers President Olivier Morel, directors of Business France and former VIEs. The panel looked at each VIE’s contribution to their company’s success, their integration into both the business and the country, and their passion and determination. The awards were divided into four categories: Major Groups, SMEs, Créative France and the Jury Prize. The ’Major Groups’ prize went to Charles Spinnewyn-Bouvet of the Faurecia group. During his VIE posting, Charles worked as Resident Engineer in charge of liaison between Faurecia’s R&D centre in Valencia, Spain, and its Fradley factory in Staffordshire, which manufactures spare parts for Land Rover. Sponsors numberly/1000mercis and Coface provided the prize of a Eurostar return ticket from London to Paris and a cheque for €1,000. In the ’SME’ category, Pierre Le Blan of the Fédération des Industries Mécaniques won the prize for his work representing three French SMEs in the UK: Galilé Energie, which supplies equipment for the nuclear industry, Mure et Peyrot, which specializes in safety knives, and CMAR, which builds special, Rail-Road and maintenance vehicles. Sponsors Saint Gobain Gyproc and Weber Saint-Gobain provided an easyJet return ticket and a €1,000 cheque. The ’Créative France’ category went to Justine Potier for her work at RPC – United Closures and Plastics. Justine showed great creativity and self-confidence in persuading her Scottish colleagues to adopt new processes. Thalès provided her with a €1,000 cheque and a Eurostar return ticket. Maïlys Galy of the Compagnie des Desserts won over the jury with her enthusiasm and passion of her pitch (and perhaps the cake she brought along!). Maïlys works from London on the company’s global development, and some of her daily duties include sending containers of desserts to China and meeting clients in the USA. She won the ’Jury Prize’ of a €500 cheque provided by EasyRoommate/Appartager, an easyJet return ticket and a kitchen robot provided by Groupe SEB. The sponsors of the award ceremony were easyJet, Saint-Gobain, Les Cidres Brun, Eurostar, Coface, numberly 1000merci, Groupe SEB, EasyRoommate, Thales Alenia Space et Remy Cointreau. With increasing numbers of applicants, the decision has been taken to make the competition a yearly event. See you in 2017! Find all the photos of the event here .

What the VIE Programme has to offer to companies Thanks to this scheme, companies that do not have subsidiaries in the UK can hire and bring over to the UK a qualified graduate from France (or another country in the EU). The scheme offers tangible tax breaks and cost benefits to the employer. Additionally, companies have access to our Business Centre for VIE (on the premises of the French Trade Commission Business France in London) and to coaching sessions with experienced trade advisers. Thanks to the VIE Programme, companies that already have a subsidiary in the UK can build valuable skills into their local teams and are able to test a future employee’s potential and abilities: the VIE Programme helps companies identify young professionals with the best potential for the future, out of a vast talent pool. The VIE Programme represents a win-win solution that benefits both companies (assisting them in their international expansion drive while providing them wit

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UBIFRANCE, the French agency for international business developement, comes under the aegis of France's Ministry for the Economy, Industry & Employment. UBIFRANCE lies at the heart of France's public-sector export support framework.